the time has come to
GROW
once again
the time has come to
GROW
once again
vox_
ludo
JESSE KROON
Game Design | Narrative Design | Experience Design
CHAPTER I
"A new dawn ascends upon the garden world."
You awake in a quiet grove. The fog of sleep weighs heavy on your mind. You look around you and see the forest, much as you remember it to have been.
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But something is different. Between the trees, you see that the forest ends, with nothing beyond but a plain of grass. This is not how it is meant to be.
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The forest you remember had no borders. It stretched beyond the horizon. Something is very wrong. What happened to your world?
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As the fog of morning clears, you see great and ancient roots rising up from the earth far in the distance. You know at once that answers are waiting for you there. You must reach the root.
NEW RULES
Welcome to the beginning of your journey. This Chapter will focus on teaching you the structure of your turn in The Game of Arbor.
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Follow the instructions in this Chapter closely. For now, this is the best way to learn the game.
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Turn Phases
Each turn in the Game of Arbor is a day, from sunrise to sunset. Your turn is divided into 3 phases: Dawn, Day, and Dusk.
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Who goes first?
In the Game of Arbor, the youngest player always goes first, for they are filled with youthful, sprightly energy. Turns are then taken in a clockwise order.
DAWN PHASE
The Dawn Phase is the beginning of your turn. The sun rises, and you absorb the energy of the stars and the power of the earth.
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In your Dawn Phase, you do 2 things:
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Draw Trees
Draw 2 Trees from your personal Tree card deck and place them in front of you. These Trees are now in your hand.
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Roll the Manna Dice
Take the 2 dice and roll them. Choose the higher number rolled. Take the die and place it on the corresponding place on the Manna Tracker on your side of the board.
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The number you rolled represents the Manna you can spend during this turn. Manna is spent on Actions you take (for example: growing Trees and moving your Ancient).
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Maximum Manna
There are only 8 spaces on the Manna Tracker. You may only have a maximum of 8 Manna at any given time.
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NOTE: There are many ways to gain additional Manna on your turn, but you can never exceed the limit of 8 at any time.
Special Rule:
Ancient Blessing
The Ancient Blessing is an echo of the power Mother Arbor granted you.
One of the sides of the Manna Die does not display a number. Instead, it shows a symbol that represents your Ancient Blessing. If you roll this symbol during your Dawn Phase, you gain the Manna shown on the other die and you can decide whether you want to:
(1) gain +1 Manna for this turn or
(2) draw +1 Tree
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NOTE: If you roll two Ancient Blessings, reroll 1 of the dice until you roll a number.
DAY PHASE
The Day Phase is the main part of your turn. You will use the power you gained at Dawn to expand your forest.
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During your Day Phase, you spend the Manna you rolled in the Dawn Phase of your turn. Your Day Phase begins once you start spending Manna.
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Grow a Tree
Take one of the Trees you just drew into your hand and place it in one of the spaces connected to the card your Ancient is standing on. Move the Manna Die 1 space down on your Manna Tracker.
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Congratulations! You just grew your first Tree!
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Growing a Tree
Growing a Tree costs 1 Manna.
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There are two rules that govern where you are allowed to grow Trees.
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(1) The Tree must be connected to a card of your color already on the board.
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Cards are 'connected' if they are side by side sharing a border along one of the sides of the card. Cards are not connected if only their corners touch.
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(2) The space on the board must be Fertile.
Special Rule:
The Rule of Fertility
You can only place cards in Fertile spaces on the board.
Your Ancient projects an Aura of Fertility to the 8 spaces surrounding the card it is standing on. These spaces are Fertile.​
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You can only grow Trees in Fertile spaces that are connected to cards of your color. In the following picture, the box displays the Aura of Fertility, and the highlighted spaces show where the player could place a card.
Take a Step
Move your Ancient piece onto the Tree you just grew. Move the Manna Die 1 space down on the Manna Tracker.
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Congratulations! You just took your first step.
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Moving your Ancient
Moving your Ancient from one space to another costs 1 Manna.
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There are two rules that govern where you are allowed to move your Ancient:
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(1) The card must be of your color.
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(2) The card must be connected to the card your Ancient was standing on.
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REMEMBER: Cards are 'connected' if they are side by side sharing a border along one of the sides of the card. Cards are not connected if only their corners touch.
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Original position.
This move costs
1 Manna to perform.
This move costs
2 Manna to perform.
Spend your Manna
Now that you've learned how to grow Trees and move your Ancient, practice some more until you've run out of Manna.
Manna doesn't carry over from one turn to the next, but Trees do! If you don't grow all of the Trees that you have in your hand, you keep them for the next turn.
DUSK PHASE
The Dusk Phase of your turn is the end of your turn. The sun sets and the Stars show themselves to you.
Your memory stirs at the sight of them. Perhaps you will learn more about the Dusk in the future.
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After you have finished spending your Manna, you end your turn by passing the dice to the next player.
Phase Markers
Dawn
Day
Dusk
The phases of the player's turn are represented by these symbols:
MEMORY restored:
35%
QUEST
Reach the Root
Grow your forest and move your Ancient across the board until it is standing within the Aura of the Root that is directly in front of you.
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You will need to grow Trees and move your Ancient in order to do so.
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The first player to do so will earn 1 Glory and advance the group to Chapter 2.